Category Alternating Current

Cross-talks on individual issues.

Aug 18 2015

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 8

squirrel girl 8

Today, Taylor and Patrick are discussing The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 8, originally released August 12th, 2015.

Taylor: I recently watched a video of a man who walked, without any safety harness, across a rope suspended 1,000 feet in the air. It’s an impressive feat, if not in bravery, then at least in balance. One wrong move, too much weight to one side, and that guy becomes a smear on the ground. In this case balance is obviously important, but for me it highlights how balance is important in almost everything do. The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl 8 similarly reminds that balance is important in a different way. Keeping in perfect equilibrium the nuttiness of Squirrel Girl and the gravitas of Thor, this issue expertly walks a fine line between comedy and adventure. And while it might not be nearly as breathtaking as slack-lining, it’s every bit as impressive.

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Aug 18 2015

Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl 1

phonogram 1Today, Shane and Spencer are discussing Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl 1, originally released August 12th, 2015.

Shane: It’s entirely possible that I’m among the worst choices to review this comic. I haven’t bought a physical comic in years. That’s not to say that I haven’t purchased comics — after all, we live in a world that has embraced the digital age — but nothing in hard copy, and certainly not by single issue. And yet, on Wednesday I found myself headed to my first comic book shop in years (walking seventy blocks to get there like a madman), all to purchase a single four dollar comic. I bought this comic knowing that I was going to love it, and I’m hardly the only one to show this sort of devotion towards Phonogram: The Immaterial Girl — scores of fans have shown off tattoos, or traveled great distances to cons, or created fanzines, or gone to see Kieron Gillen DJ at a random show due to how well it ties into the Phonogram narrative. It’s not uncommon for media to evoke such passion, of course…but consider, if you will, that prior to this week, Phonogram existed soley as two poorly selling limited series by creators who were, at that time, almost entirely unknown. This wasn’t even the work that built their careers — Gillen and Jamie McKelvie remained struggling artists until their breakout work at Marvel Comics — but it wouldn’t surprise me if this series, more than even Young Avengers and The Wicked + The Divine, will be the comic they’re most linked to in the long run. Continue reading →

Aug 17 2015

Batman 43

batman 43

Today, Drew and Michael are discussing Batman 43, originally released August 12th, 2015.

It seems like so many of these interpretations [of Batman] are somebody’s favorite. And the truth be told is that they all feel like it’s the same character. Regardless of how different they might be or how separate they might feel, they all feel like they’re Batman. They all feel true to the core conceit of what that character is.

Dan DiDio

Drew: As diverse as Batman stories can be, they’ve always shared some core tenants of who the character is and what he stands for. Or, maybe we need to be more specific — there have been a few different Batmen over the years, with some variation in guiding principles (and origin stories), but Bruce Wayne has always stood for the same things. Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s run on this series has been a slow indictment of each of those guiding principles, from Batman’s relationship to Gotham to exactly where he falls on the “superstitious and cowardly” spectrum, but this issue takes away something even more central to Bruce than all of these things combined: his drive as a detective. Indeed, that seems to be the linchpin that makes Bruce Batman — without it, he’s almost unrecognizable. Continue reading →

Aug 13 2015

Mad Max: Fury Road: Mad Max 2

mad max 2

Today, Mark and Drew are discussing Mad Max: Fury Road: Mad Max 2, originally released August 5th, 2015.

Mark: One of my favorite things about Max Rockatanksy is that despite being crazy he’s an incredibly pure hero. There’s a trend in pop culture that seems to be sunsetting where every hero was an anti-hero. Yes we were rooting for them, but in the context of the real world we wouldn’t have been. But as interesting as anti-heroes can be, it’s hard to beat a straight-up hero. Indiana Jones is a scoundrel, yes, but he only wants to do the right thing. Ethan Hunt is blowing up in movie theaters right now in a fifth Mission: Impossible film. Max is the same way: yes, he has flaws but his motives are incredibly true. There’s something fundamentally appealing about these characters in a way anti-heroes can’t compete. Continue reading →

Aug 11 2015

Darth Vader 8

darth vader 8

Today, Michael and Patrick are discussing Darth Vader, originally released August 5th, 2015.

star wars div

Michael: At my old age of 27, I must admit that I have gotten a little curmudgeonly – especially where pop culture is concerned. I’ve seen so many different iterations of ideas and tropes that sometimes it’s hard to tell if something is cliché or if I’ve just put myself in a position to see the same story 10 billion times. Darth Vader 8 took all of my predictions and suppositions and knocked them flat on their ass. And this pleases me. Continue reading →

Aug 10 2015

DC Round-Up Comics Released 8/4/15

dc roundup4

Retcon Punch is on Summer Hours, which means we’re going to be writing fewer in-depth pieces for the month of August. But we’re addicts at this point, so we need a place for our thoughts on all those comics we can’t stop reading. Today, we’re discussing Midnighter 3, Detective Comics 43, Batman Beyond 3 and Green Lantern 43.

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Aug 10 2015

Summer Hours 2015

summer hours

Howdy everyone! Your old pals at Retcon Punch are going to seek a little R&R for the month of August. Some of us have travel on the calendar, some of us are taking on new projects, and some of us need time to reflect on how the waning of the summer sun reminds us of our slow inevitable descent to a slow, cold, meaningless death.

But hey! That doesn’t mean we’re going away entirely! In fact, I still hope to publish 2-3 Alternating Currents a week and we’ll still be weighing in on the new direction of the DCU (please, don’t make me use “DCYou”) and Secret Wars in the form of our now-familiar Round Ups. Beyond that, there will also always be a sort of catch-all Round Up to discuss indie books, Vertigo, Star Wars, or whatever Marvel stuff doesn’t yet fall under the banner of “Secret Wars.”

So I hope you’ll stick with us and put your own two cents in the comments. I expect we’ll still be expressing quite a few contestable opinions, and nothing brings me more joy that watching those contests play out on the site. Plus, we’ll be back in the Fall, and all of this will look a little bit fresher. On behalf of Drew, Spencer, Michael, Taylor, Ryan, Mark, Shane, Shelby and myself, have a great Summer y’all!

Patrick, Co-Editor-In-Chief

Aug 5 2015

Sex Criminals 11

Alternating Currents: Sex Criminals 11, Drew and Michael

Today, Drew and Michael are discussing Sex Criminals 11, originally released June 29th, 2015.

Drew: I’ve played the “what superpower would you want” game enough to know that most people will settle for “flight” or “invisibility.” Does that predictability speak to the overwhelming awesomeness of those powers, or some failure of those individuals to be creative? I think it might actually speak to how we think about superpowers: they’re so arbitrary as to be kind of meaningless. Indeed, there are relatively few characters whose powersets are actually limited to just “flight” or “invisibility,” giving even those most popular choices the air of not quite being enough. Which is why Sex Criminals is such a revelation. “A series about a couple with the ability to stop time” doesn’t get nearly the reaction as “A series about a couple with the ability to stop time when they orgasm.” Part of the charm is the novelty, sure, but the premise requires that sexuality play a central role in the series. That makes it unique beyond its superpowers, as issue 11 takes us into the private lives of virtually every character via their sex lives. Continue reading →

Aug 5 2015

Lazarus 18

lazarus 18Today, Spencer and Ryan are discussing Lazarus 18, originally released July 29th, 2015.

Spencer: There’s a certain rush that comes with new stories, with watching a whole world full of new characters and relationships being established right before your eyes, but it’s a rush that by definition can’t last forever, and late-series attempts to keep things fresh often misfire. The answer isn’t continually adding new characters and concepts, which can often leave a story feeling bloated and distract from its core themes; the best storytellers know the power that comes from mixing up established relationships, throwing together characters who have never really interacted before, and finding new perspectives to view their cast through. Greg Rucka and Michael Lark’s Lazarus is well into its second year and fourth storyline, and it’s exactly these kind of techniques that keeps issue 18 feeling as compelling as ever. Continue reading →

Aug 4 2015

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 48

tmnt 48

Today, Taylor and Spencer are discussing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 48, originally released July 29th, 2015.

Taylor: Time is hard concept to understand. On the one hand, it’s totally an invention of humankind and wouldn’t exist without us. On the other hand, it does seem like things more or less move temporally in some fashion independent of human thought. That’s basically the second law of thermodynamics. The point is, time is a complicated concept. It should be no surprise then that time can be difficult to illustrate in comics. It’s such an abstract concept that it’s not always easy to show readers. However, one of the things comic book artists are experts at is showing the movement of time in and between panels. In Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 48, artist Cory Smith puts on a clinic on how to show the passage of time. Subsequently, this issue is beautiful to read.

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